1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a carbon nanotube array and methods for making the carbon nanotube array, and particularly to an isotope-doped carbon nanotube array and methods for making the isotope-doped carbon nanotube array.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Isotope labeling is a powerful tool in the study of nano-material growth mechanisms and in nano-sized isotope junction synthesis. Methods of isotope labeling use reactants containing different isotopes of a special element (usually light elements such as carbon, boron, nitrogen, and oxygen), which are fed in designated concentrations (pure or mixed) and sequences into a nano-material synthesis process to provide in situ isotope labeling of nano-materials.
A typical example is shown and discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,029,751B2, entitled, “ISOTOPE-DOPED CARBON NANOTUBE AND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING THE SAME,” issued to Fan, et al. on Apr. 18, 2006. This patent discloses an isotope-doped carbon nanotube array and method for making the same. The isotope-doped carbon nanotube array includes a plurality of identical isotope-doped carbon nanotubes which are used for labeling. However, the number of labels is limited by a single kind of isotope-doped carbon nanotubes in the isotope-doped carbon nanotube array, which limits isotopic labeling.
What is needed, therefore, is to provide a carbon nanotube array which includes a plurality of isotope-doped carbon nanotube sub-arrays, and a method for making the same, to overcome the above-described shortcomings.